The present invention generally relates to beverage dispensers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a post-mix beverage dispenser for agitated or whipped beverages.
There are presently a number of popular beverages sold in restaurants, snack shops, amusement parks, fast food outlets, and other establishments throughout the world. Some of these beverages are served in a whipped or foamed condition. That is, the beverage is agitated or whipped in the dispensing process to give the served beverage a foamy, froth texture. Typically, these beverages are made from a combination of a concentrate and a diluent, usually water. The concentrate by itself generally does not require refrigeration and has a shelf life of several months to over a year.
For years, two basic type of fountain dispensers have been available to the trade, referred to respectively as “pre-mix” and “post-mix” dispensers.
Pre-mix dispensers require syrup concentrate and water to be pre-mixed to provide a finished beverage which is then stored in a holding tank until dispensed through a faucet located on the dispenser. However, such pre-mix dispensers suffer from a number of disadvantages. Pre-mixing the syrup and water requires employee time and resources. Even with refrigeration, some bacterial growth is present. Consequently, after a period of time, typically a few days, any remaining pre-mix beverage should be discarded to maintain healthful quality and pleasing beverage taste. Thus, it is necessary to disassemble and clean the whipping assembly on a daily basis to remove accumulated beverage residue remaining in the dispensing apparatus.
Post-mix dispensers do not pre-mix the syrup and water, saving the manual mixing time and employee resources. Instead, the syrup and water are conveyed by separate conduits to a dispenser head, sometimes referred to as a valve, and then mixed while being dispensed through the usual spout on the housing. The syrup may be stored remotely from the dispenser housing in a metallic cylinder, or in a collapsible plastic bag in a cardboard box, or any other suitable storage medium. The water source may simply be the available municipal water line. Post-mix dispensers overcome, to a great extent, the disadvantages suffered by the pre-mix dispensers. Accordingly, the majority of soft drinks and non-carbonated beverages sold in restaurants and fast-food businesses utilize post-mix dispensers.
A conventional post-mix beverage dispenser, referred to by the reference number 10, is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The beverage dispenser illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is similar to that provided by Cornelius under the UF-1 designation. Other companies provide similar post-mix beverage dispensers operating under generally the same principles and having very similar components.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a dispenser head 12 is shown which extends from a support structure (not shown) which, as is well-known in the art that, can accommodate ice and includes fluid conduits to a source of water or other diluent and beverage concentrates, as well as typically accommodating a plurality of dispenser heads. Such support structures typically include a drain basin for collecting spilled beverage and ice, and have a grate 14 for supporting cups 16 thereon so that the cups 16 can be positioned below the dispenser head 12 to receive the beverage 18.
With particular reference to FIG. 2, the dispenser head 12 includes a cover 20, shown in phantom, which houses the necessary components and conduits for dispensing a diluent, typically water, and a syrup or concentrate. As such, the head 12 includes inlet conduits 22 which are connected to fluid lines extending to either the water source or the source of concentrate. Flow regulators 24 are used to adjust the amount of water or concentrate delivered. A switch 26, such as the illustrated push-button switch, electrically activates a solenoid 28 which creates a magnetic field causing an arm 30 to move against the bias of spring 32 and open valves to allow the water and concentrate to flow into a mixing chamber. The dispenser head 12 may include other conduits and chambers for electrical lines, concentrate and diluent passageways, motors as necessary, etc. These components are traditional and well-known in the art.
A generally cylindrical wall 36 extends downwardly from a bottom portion of the dispenser head 12. The spout 34 is attached to the head 12 by a twist-turn frictional fit so that it is removably attached to the head 12 for cleaning purposes and the like. The spout 34 may include a protrusion 38 which is inserted bayonet-style into a mating notch and groove (not shown) such that upon inserting and turning the spout 34 a quarter-turn, it is locked in place. Typically, the spout 34 is defined by generally cylindrical upper portion 40, which tapers at a lower portion 42 thereof to an outlet 44 through which the beverage 18 is dispensed.
In conventional soft drink dispensers, syrup concentrate and pressurized carbon dioxide mixed with water are dispensed through the dispenser head 12 such that the carbonated water falls substantially directly downwardly over a diffuser through which the syrup concentrate is emitted such that the carbonated beverage 18 mixes as the syrup and carbonated water fall through the spout 34 and into the cup 16.
With reference now to FIGS. 2–4, the diffusers 46 conventionally used typically include a hollow post 48 having an O-ring or the like 50 for insertion directly into the syrup concentrate outlet of the dispenser head 12. In one form, the diffuser 46 includes a skirt 52 having apertures 54 which extend into the hollow tube 48 such that the concentrate is ejected from the apertures 54. Grooves or canals 56 can also be implemented to direct the concentrate emitted from the apertures 54. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 4, apertures 60 are formed at a closed end of the hollow tube 48.
The diffusers 46 and 58 also include two or more rings 62 and 64 having a plurality of apertures 66 formed therethrough. The skirt 52 and two or more rings 62 and 64 are of the same diameter. It is well known that when creating carbonated drinks foam is undesirable. The carbonated water tends to foam as it is released into the cup. Accordingly, prior art diffusers, such as diffusers 46 and 58, include a plurality of skirts and rings 52, 62 and 64 so as to reduce the foaming as much as possible. In fact, other prior art diffusers include three or even four rings in an attempt to reduce the foaming created by the carbonated water in the drink.
Thus, as water or other diluent is dropped from an outlet of the diluent conduit from the dispenser head into the spout 34, it cascades over the diffuser 46 or 48. In the case of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the water diluent somewhat mixes with the syrup concentrate emitted from skirt apertures 54 as it passes over the skirt 52 and apertured rings 62 and 64 and eventually through the spout 34 and into the cup 68. In the case of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the concentrate is emitted through the apertures 60 so as to somewhat mix with the water diluent as it passes through the spout. However, in either case, it has been found that the syrup concentrate and water diluent mix most substantially in the cup 16 itself. In any event, while performing adequately well for soft drinks and juice drinks, such as lemonade and the like, this design does not froth or whip the beverage. To create a frothed or whipped beverage requires turbulent mixing of the water diluent and syrup concentrate so as to entrain air bubbles therein. Moreover, the syrup concentrate must be prone to such whipping, such as Orange Bang, Inc.'s Orange Bang®, Piña Colada Bang®, and Strawberry Bang® beverages. Frothed or whipped beverages are more foaming than carbonated or non-whipped drinks and require a special syrup capable of being whipped.
In the early 1980's, Orange Bang, Inc. designed a dispenser 100 for a whipped beverage comprising a specially designed plastic mixing block 102, as shown in FIG. 5. The mixing block 102 included a generally hemispherically shaped mixing chamber 104 cut-out therefrom. A syrup concentrate conduit 106 was formed in the block 102 such that it extended between the mixing chamber 104 and a solenoid valve 108 which controlled the delivery of the pressurized syrup concentrate. Similarly, a conduit 110 was formed in the block 102 which was in fluid communication with the mixing chamber 104 and another solenoid valve 112 for controlling the amount of pressurized water which was delivered. The concentrate and water conduits 106 and 110 were angled with respect to one another such that the syrup and water would be ejected at angles which would intersect at a given point to create the frothed beverage. It was discovered that the mixing chamber 104 had to be vented to allow air to be introduced into the mixing chamber 104 and allow the concentrate and water to whip or froth. It was discovered that the mixing chamber 104 had to be vented to allow air to be introduced into the mixing chamber 104 and allow the concentrate and water to whip or froth. Accordingly, a vent conduit 114 was formed in the block 102. It was also found that whip-gain was improved and the possibility of the beverage entering the vent conduit 114 virtually eliminated by the addition of a metal tube 116 within the vent conduit 114 and extending into the water conduit 114. As the water cascaded over the end of the tube 116, a venturi effect was created allowing air to be drawn into the water stream, while preventing the back flow of beverage through the air vent 114 and out of the exterior of the block 102 of the dispenser 100. Other conduits 118 such as for electrical leads, stream control devices, etc. were formed in the mixing block 102.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,401 to Fox et al. discloses an improvement on this design, wherein a mixing paddle operated by a motor is introduced into the mixing chamber to improve the whip-gain of the whipped beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,269 to Stratton, discloses a slight variation to the initial Orange Bang, Inc. beverage dispenser. To improve whip-gain, Stratton discloses the use of a uniquely configured water injection nozzle having a tube with a flattened end portion defining an elongated water injection port extending into the mixing chamber. Such specialized water injection nozzle provided sufficient whip-gain. However, this dispensing apparatus also required a specially designed plastic mixing block with the various passage-ways, chambers, air vents, etc.
Another problem with all of these devices is that, due to their specialized design, they effectively served as a stand-alone dispenser. This required that the establishment make room for the dispenser next to traditional carbonated beverage dispensing banks, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and described above.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for an apparatus which can be incorporated into a traditional bank of post-mix soft drink dispenser heads which will prepare and dispense whipped beverages. Such an apparatus, or modified dispenser head, should not require the use of specialized equipment, such as plastic mixing blocks, vented chambers, motorized mixing paddles or the like. The present invention fulfills these needs, and provides other related advantages.